Food 2030 - The Six 'Core Issues'

This is the second Law Now looking at Food 2030, the Government's Strategy for Food. Released last month following extensive consultation and discussion during 2008 and 2009, Food 2030 sets out the priorities of the UK Government for the "big food challenges" of sustainability, security and health. It is a welcome attempt to "join up" the thinking in this area and sets out a vision for a sustainable and secure food system for 2030.

The specific role of the strategy is to provide underpinning for the vision of "a sustainable and secure food system" by 2030 and identify the Government's role in creating it. To do this Food 2030 looks at six "Core" issues, outlines the "Challenges" and then lists a number of "Actions".

Encouraging people to eat a healthy, sustainable diet. Ensuring a resilient, profitable and competitive food system Increasing food production sustainably Reducing the food system's greenhouse gas emissions Reducing, reusing and reprocessing waste. Increasing the impact of skills, knowledge, research and technology. To read The Big Food Challenges - sustainability, security and health Law Now please click here (www.law-now.com/dmemails/thebigfoodchallenges080210.htm).

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This is the second Law Now looking at Food 2030, the Government's Strategy for Food. Released last month following extensive consultation and discussion during 2008 and 2009, Food 2030 sets out the priorities of the UK Government for the "big food challenges" of sustainability, security and health. It is a welcome attempt to "join up" the thinking in this area and sets out a vision for a sustainable and secure food system for 2030.

The specific role of the strategy is to provide underpinning for the vision of "a sustainable and secure food system" by 2030 and identify the Government's role in creating it. To do this Food 2030 looks at six "Core" issues, outlines the "Challenges" and then lists a number of "Actions".

1. Encouraging people to eat a healthy, sustainable diet. Emphasising education and supporting consumer choice and values by providing consumers with better environmental and welfare information about their food including where and how it was produced. It is anticipated that customer demand for healthy, sustainable food would send the most effective signal to the food chain to supply it. The discussion highlights the link between poor diet and obesity, with certain types of cancer and type II diabetes. Part of the Strategy is spur action to enable more "fish on plates", reducting salt, fat and sugar, and provision of nutritional information on packaging and menus. Reduction of impact of diet by wasting less food, eating food that is in season (not just the UK's seasons) and buying food shown to be produced sustainably are all suggested approaches. When seeking to define a "sustainable diet", Food 2030 lists issues such as health, nutrition, access, affordability, carbon footprint, production methods, transport, water use and animal welfare as issues that need to go into the balance and notes that current "footprint" measurements tend to focus on one issue rather than presenting the full picture.

2. Ensuring a resilient, profitable and competitive food system. Describing the UK food...